The New England Patriots turned the page back to their dynasty days by hiring Mike Vrabel as head coach and returning Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator. Both the former Patriots defensive end and Patriots offensive coordinator were cornerstones of New England's run atop of the NFL, and will look to recreate that dominance.
Those Patriots teams had Tom Brady leading the charge, but Vrabel and McDaniels will now revolve this team around Drake Maye, who just wrapped up a promising first season in New England. During his rookie season, Maye displayed the talent and play-making ability that made him the No. 3 overall pick in last year's draft, but he will need more support around him to truly succeed and help the Patriots win.
Vrabel and McDaniels have been brought in to lead that support. Maye was not in attendance for Vrabel's introductory press conference, as he was busy getting engaged to his long-time girlfriend, but got to share his initial impressions of his new coaches while taking part in the Pro Bowl Games on Thursday.
“He reached out to me and we got on the phone," Maye said of Vrabel, via SiriusXM NFL Radio. "He’s been awesome. Obviously, [he’s] a guy who’s done it, played in the league and won a Super Bowl. You have a respect of what he’s done and seen what he’s done. I think the biggest thing is he’s been a head coach, and he knows what it’s like. So excited to get up to New England and get things going.”
Maye is also looking forward to study the film from McDaniels's previous stints with New England, and the plays he called for Tom Brady.
"Coach McDaniels, what's he done there and the success he's had, fortunate to be able to have a guy come who's done it at a high level and learn from him coaching the best ever in my opinion, Tom [Brady]," Maye said. "Got a great chance to go back and all those years of film ... that's all their play calls, all Coach McDaniels stuff and what he did with Tom. It's fortunate for me to go back and study it up and get ready for this next season."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Drake Maye Shares Initial Impression of Patriots' Mike Vrabel, Josh McDaniels Hirings.